If Rin Could Not Have Been Saved
by LinSetsu
Summary: What if Rin had been killed during the mission and Obito had lived? How would that have affected Kakashi and Obito's relations?
1. Chapter 1

Quick Note to all Readers: This one-shot has absolutely nothing to do with my other two stories "Nakama" and "Touketsu no Namida". It is an AU, but different from the two I just mentioned. To anyone who IS waiting for the next update of "Touketsu no Namida" please take a quick look at my profile to see the state I'm in.

Disclaimer: "Naruto" is not owned by me.

.-.-.

**If Rin Could Not Have Been Saved**

Twenty year old Uchiha Obito was a fun guy to be around, always grinning or laughing, cracking jokes, getting drunk, or simply just hanging out with friends. It wasn't always just friends. He had a reputation of getting along with just about everyone in the village. Just about. That didn't make in him a poor ninja though, oh no. He was one of the best among the Jounin, and a well known soldier in the ANBU. The missions he led brought back not only success, but a high rate of survival of subordinates. He was a good captain, responsible, and managed to ease the tension out of almost any situation. Almost.

But no one would have expected that just half a decade earlier, when he was still a Chuunin. Back then, he was weak, the Uchiha drop-out, a cry baby, obnoxious, who still managed to have a big mouth, and one which spat out both things he could and could never do. Despite being the Fourth Hokage's student, he was the embarrassment and stinging wound to the Uchiha pride.

Now, he was a shinobi, who could genuinely be compared with the genius, Hatake Kakashi.

Said genius had also grown to be famous, not only within Konoha, but also without, to the far corners of all Five Great Shinobi countries. He wasn't as social and open as Obito, and he certainly did not enjoy being surrounded by people when it was not necessary. _He_ was the perfect soldier – the classic example of what a shinobi should be. He was admired by the Chuunin and newly promoted Jounin, even ANBU, and phrases such as '…are the basics of a shinobi – just like Hatake Kakashi' became more and more frequent. Born as the son of the famous White Fang, Hatake Sakumo, Kakashi had lived the first few years of his life in his father's great shadow. After that one mission, he had spent a while under the cold gazes of the village, seen as the son of the disgraced trash. But Kakashi did nothing, retorted to no one, and continued on his path to grow stronger. And stronger he got. On his first mission as a Jounin, Kakashi lost a team mate, but at the same time, turned the tides of the war towards a Konoha victory.

Many people compared Uchiha Obito and Hatake Kakashi, to such an extent that it became a regular rumour among the older ladies, and the root of many arguments and mock fights between children. Those who were close to the two shinobi in question knew that they were both incredibly strong and great, in their own separate ways. Obito was admired and liked once one got close to him and talked to him. Kakashi was held in awe from afar, for his mere presence was enough to keep away most people.

'Just about' did not mean 'everything', and 'most people' did not mean 'everyone'.

For those who knew Kakashi and Obito knew also that the two of them loathed each other. This had been made a clear fact when they had first been placed in the same squad for a mission and an accompanying Jounin was almost knocked out cold due to the mere Sakki() that Obito and Kakashi had emitted.

That didn't mean that those missions would go horribly wrong. Quite the opposite. What else could be expected when two such ANBU joined forces? The risk of harming a shinobi due to the ice cold tension the Kakashi and Obito build did not stop their superiors from placing them on the same team more often. They just told any inexperienced ninja, "don't get directly between Hatake and Uchiha Obito – you'll be killed."

And no one could blame them.

Obito had loved Rin, the sweet, gentle medic girl who had been killed during _that_ mission. She had been taken captive by the Rock nins, and they had never been able to save her. Everyone knew that she couldn't have been saved if the mission were to have been a success. Though it saddened them, they could not really hesitate between the choice of one girl and a whole country. They sympathised with Obito, who had been unable to save her even if he had had every intention of doing so, for it was Kakashi who had knocked him unconscious and left him in the safety of a small cave.

No one blamed the mutual hatred that had intensified over the years, and no one tried to stop it – not when they first learned of it, not when it happened again on the next mission they were teamed together, not when a foolish kunoichi (a fan of both of them) physically stepped between them during a mission and really did suffer from mental distortions caused by the Sakki, and not even when close friends found out that Kakashi and Obito fought each other, very seriously with every intention to kill, every month when there was no moon in the sky, regardless of the clouds.

.-.-.

So it was that tonight was such a night – the stars twinkled innocently in the black sky, where no sign of the moon was to be found, gazing silently down at the two shinobi who walked to the edges of a clearing in the forest.

Obito's eyes were already red and the Sharingan spun uncontrollably as if imitating the fiery flames of rage that boiled within its master's chest. Kakashi's silver hair swayed in the breeze, no longer bound by the Hitai-ate, which he always took off for these nights. His anger was colder, more controlled, but no less violent than Obito's. A stray leaf, carried by the wings of the wind blew between their line of eye contact and splintered.

The two former team mates fought with everything they had. There was no foreplay, or a chance to warm up the muscles. The first step, the first blow, were all intended for one end: to kill.

Yet from above, it could not help but look like a graceful dance. Their feet glided smoothly over the ground, kicking off and bracing against the earth at just the right moments. Their limbs were a blur of motion, and their bodies moved accordingly – at times pivoting in a swift arc or flipping through the air and at times lunging forward to stab or strike.

.-.-.

Obito had been seeking revenge for Rin ever since the day he found out she was dead. There was no way he could forgive Kakashi for what he had done. At first, he could not believe it, but Kakashi had repeated it again: "I knocked you out and went to finish the mission alone. Once the mission was accomplished, I tracked down the Rocks and found Rin dead." When Obito had turned his disbelieving eyes to their teacher, he had averted his gaze a little and nodded once. Obito had not attended Rin's funeral, choosing instead, to use the time to train.

But he wasn't stupid. After a few months, he began to question his thirst for revenge. Was Kakashi really telling the truth? The two of them had never gotten along, but they had often spent time together in silence, just sitting together in the fields in each other's company. He knew that Kakashi was not as cold at heart as he seemed to be. So it was that he began to look into that mission a little, and was not surprised to find hints along the way that pointed to the fact that Kakashi had indeed been lying.

Nevertheless, Obito ignored the fact. It was easier – much easier – to hate Kakashi with his mind and soul. The pain was not that bad then, and he didn't have to think about the whole issue in a very complicated way. Kakashi had broken the team work; he had abandoned Rin; he was responsible for Rin's death; he as good as killed Rin.

Kakashi did not deserve to live.

.-.-.

Kakashi _had_ been lying. His argument with Obito had forced him to open his eyes to his own stupidity. Obito had been _right_. He was a cry baby and a weak, weak ninja, but he was _right_. That's why Kakashi had knocked him out. He would be damned if he let Obito walk straight to his death – which is what would have happened if Kakashi had let him go off to try and save Rin. So Kakashi hid him out of harm's way and went to track down the enemy by himself. He found them alright, but during the fight, his left eye was maimed, and he was placed at a severe disadvantage when more of the enemy appeared. He would have been killed had Rin not thrown herself in front of him to save him from a killing blow.

He should have been killed. Rin shouldn't have died. _He_ was the one who was unneeded. _He_ didn't have anything. Rin had a family, had friends, and above all, she had someone who truly _loved_ her. Kakashi knew that Rin had died because of him. And for this, he was guilty. He could not tell Obito the truth. So he lied, and Obito had spat and cursed him with every ounce of energy he had. He had tried to pound the life out of Kakashi then and there, and while Kakashi blocked most the blows, he made sure that the very first punch, the one with the most anger and hatred in it, hit its mark.

Kakashi ignored the truth, and continued to lie. It was easier to lie and let Obito despise him. It was easier this way to bear the guilt and the pain. He had killed Rin; Obito hated him and will hate him until either of them died; it was his duty to make sure he killed him.

.-.-.

On these moonless nights, towards the morning hours of the darkness, the Heavens always looked down upon the two exhausted, heavily wounded shinobi, and wept.

.-.-.

() Sakki: killing intent

I don't know where this came from, and I'm pretty sure it'll go nowhere, but I wanted to post it anyways. I thought it might get my muse back up and running. If it doesn, then it's worth failing a chemistry test. lol.

Thanks for anyone who reads! Comments are always welcome.

.LinSetsu.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: When I first wrote this one-shot, it really was meant to be a one-shot, but this idea popped up in my head after a kind reviewer suggested making this into a pairing. Now, I'm not the most experienced at writing pairing stories, and I tried to do this as realistically as possible. Having said that, concrit is always welcome.

There's swearing and some blood, so you've been warned.

--

It had been raining the whole day, and the sky did not look like it would let up anytime soon. Day had been dark and cold and the onslaught of night was not much different. The early spring rain did little to lighten the mood of the villagers, both civilian and shinobi alike, as the former sat in well lit houses after dinner and the latter glanced ruefully up at the clouds before resigning themselves to getting wet.

One particular group of medic-nins stood just outside the hospital doors and did a quick recheck of their supplies. Between the four medics, they had two stretchers, two emergency blood sacs, numerous tubes and needles, a bagful of bandages, several injectors, and a supply of strong tranquilisers.

Few words were spoken between them, who by now, were thoroughly used to the procedure, and when all was ready, they set out into the rain, towards the training grounds. With practiced ease, they slowed down as they neared the areas where experienced Jounin and ANBU trained, then came to a complete stop at the border of a thick line of trees.

It was only a matter of time now, and all four medics expected to remain until well passed midnight, so they found the driest place and simply waited. Occasionally, they would feel a tremor run through the ground under their feet, or hear a loud crash echoing in the distance, but they pretended not to notice.

In time, it would end. It always did.

And when it did, they always prepared for the worst.

--

Uchiha Obito skidded through the squishy mud that did little to stop his backward momentum. It was like trying to fight on a half-melted slate of ice. Not that he would complain; they were both fighting on the same ground, after all.

The constant patter of raindrops splashing against pools of dirt water was loud enough to fill his ears and disguise the sound of the air whistling. But his Sharingan was already picking up the movement, and no matter how swift and deadly-precise the round house kick was, Obito could see exactly where it was going and how long it would take. He could even predict the inevitable shift of balance and the spit-seconds his enemy would need to be able to move away from Obito's reach.

So it was no real threat when Hatake Kakashi attacked him from behind, his right foot mere inches away from Obito's face and closing the gap quickly. Spinning, Obito grabbed the mud-slick sandal with his left hand and sent his right fist hurling towards Kakashi's jaw.

Bone connected with bone and Kakashi staggered back, but not without flinging out several kunai, one of which grazed Obito's side even as he dove out of the line of fire. Through the haze of rain, he saw Kakashi lose his precarious footing and land unsteadily on one knee.

Kakashi had been injured before their fight, Obito knew this. In fact, Kakashi had been out on a week-long, classified mission and when he had come to meet Obito in the forest, it had looked like he had just gotten back, reported to his superior and then came straight to fight. To support this, Kakashi was still wearing his sleeveless ANBU uniform, though all the armour had been removed and his porcelain mask and sword were nowhere to be found.

He was slower, and his attacks lacked force. It was a minimal difference, almost negligible to anyone else, but Obito was not one to miss it. He was also well aware of the fact that Kakashi was favouring his left arm and was most likely suffering some internal damage in his chest, judging from his stiff movements.

They were minor details.

Without pausing, Obito darted forward, his hands blurred in a sequence of seals. _Katon: Karyuu Endan_. Kakashi was already leaping up and away, and had just enough time to perform a water technique to counter the powerful fire jutsu. Obito didn't wait to watch, and rose up behind Kakashi with three kunai held lightly between his fingers.

The first was easily batted away, the second dodged and the third propelled harmlessly into a tree with Kakashi's own kunai. Not half a second later, the third exploded in a brilliant flash of bright light.

Kakashi was far enough that the explosion didn't physically harm him, save the scorching heat and momentary blindness, but the sound wave left him disoriented and his head pounding.

A thick fog was spreading as he fell, the result of fire and water, and Kakashi was left vulnerable. He was still seeing bright flares in his eyes, his ears were ringing and the rain prevented him from detecting anything with his sense of smell. He almost didn't notice the shower of weapons until they were almost upon him.

He knew he wouldn't make it to the ground before they struck him, so he gritted his teeth, flicked out two kunai and did the best he could to not get impaled by any of the larger weapons.

Obito watched with stark clarity through his steadily spinning Sharingan as Kakashi struggled to defend himself in midair. His weariness and damage was now clearly beginning to show, especially if the supposed genius had missed the explosive talisman curled around his kunai back up in the tree tops.

_This is unfair_, a thin voice whispered in the back of his head. Obito narrowed his eyes.

_I can live with that_, he replied, harshly squashing back the unnecessary thoughts.

Kakashi landed heavily, a shuriken embedded in his right thigh, his clothes torn and his mask ripped open, but otherwise unharmed. With his lower face revealed, Obito could see him breathing quickly through parted lips, his eyes blinking rapidly and his body tense and searching.

Obito came from above, feigning a drop kick and lashing out with his fist instead, both of which were successfully blocked. For a while, they waged a battle of taijutsu. Neither got the upper hand until Obito got passed Kakashi's defences and thrust the sole of his foot into the shuriken still lodged on his thigh.

Kakashi hissed in pain, and his leg buckled, and he wasn't fast enough to block Obito's follow-up kick that struck squarely against his left ribs. There was a sickening sound of cracking bones just before Kakashi doubled over with a racking cough and a mouthful of blood.

Obito didn't allow himself to be surprised at coincidentally finding Kakashi's wounded region, and lost himself in a new rush of adrenaline. This was it. This was his chance to finally kill Rin's murderer and avenge her. Fuck unfairness. Nothing was fair in the shinobi world.

Even as Kakashi collapsed forward, Obito drew his fist back and sent it flying forward. It connected firmly with Kakashi's head and sent the injured shinobi sprawling backwards with a splash of mud.

Obito's mind was strangely blank as he thoughtlessly plunged a kunai through the upturned palm of Kakashi's left hand, effectively pinning it to the wet ground. A jerk of his arm was the only indication that Kakashi noticed the weapon, and when he tried to push himself up, Obito was already coming down on him.

With his left foot stamping down on Kakashi's other wrist and his knee pressing down close to his broken ribs, Obito grabbed a fistful of silver hair, pinning him to the ground and positioned a kunai directly over his throat.

Kakashi's face was contorted into something between a grimace and a snarl. His breaths came in shallow pants through parted, bloody lips but despite the obvious pain, his eyes glared defiantly up at Obito.

"You killed Rin," Obito hissed, his own eyes narrowed and flashing with cold fury. His hand on the kunai was steady.

"Took you long enough," Kakashi said, his voice hoarse, "to figure it out."

Obito's grip on both the hair and kunai tightened. "You killed her. You abandoned her!"

His knee slipped closer to the cracked ribs and Kakashi couldn't suppress the strangled gasp. His eyes were blurring; he could hardly look straight, but he tried to find purchase in those spinning, blood red eyes above him. His whole body ached and his mind was screaming about shutting down, and quickly.

He was tired and cold and in pain. He just wanted to get done with this quickly so that he could sleep – to fall into that blissful numbness that was already beginning to wrap around him. Possibly forever. Obito was screaming something above him, but he couldn't hear anything. He could just barely feel the tip of the kunai pricking his skin.

Just a little more pressure – a simple flick of his wrist – and it would all be over.

So why was Obito hesitating?

"Too scared to kill, crybaby?" His voice was nothing more than a croak.

Obito snarled something incomprehensible and his hand holding the kunai reared up. Kakashi watched until he saw the blade descending, and then slid his eyes closed. At last, he was getting what he deserved – the retribution for his sins.

Sharp pain flared in his shoulder and the pressure over his abused ribs doubled.

Kakashi's eyes snapped open again and his mouth parted in a scream – instantly muffled by the presence of another mouth over his.

The kiss was rough, and held little feeling except hatred and anger. Obito pushed down with enough force to bruise their clamped lips, and when his teeth bit down on Kakashi's soft flesh, it drew blood. Kakashi gasped, and Obito took full advantage of his parted teeth. With the knee in his chest and an intruding tongue forcefully violating his mouth, he could hardly breathe, making him light-headed.

When he felt a hand sliding down his side and resting on his hips, Kakashi snapped out his state of paralysed shock. He clamped his teeth shut, effectively making Obito wince and withdraw his tongue, though his lips remains tightly clasped over Kakashi's. The hand moved away, but before Obito could do anything else to restrain him, Kakashi reacted.

He drew his head back as much as he could with the fingers still curled in his hair, and jerked it up in a sharp head-butt. Their foreheads collided with a dull _thunk_, and Obito grunted, finally pulling back a fraction. Using the distraction while trying to ignore his own dizziness, Kakashi twisted his right arm free from under the foot and immediately threw the fist in Obito's face.

The blow held more force than Obito thought Kakashi was capable of in his current condition, and to avoid a humiliating land on his ass, he stumbled to his feet. Kakashi sat up as soon as the weight was lifted off, and yanked the kunai out of his other hand with a small wince. The hand was numb and covered with blood, and along with the second kunai Obito had struck in his shoulder – which _should_ have brought him death instead – and the half-healed cut along his forearm from the mission, his left arm was completely useless.

No, scratch that. The entire left side of his anatomy was pretty much rendered immobile: he was going to have to dig into his thigh to get the shuriken out and he could already guess four broken ribs.

By all means, Kakashi was defenceless. So why had Obito decided that kissing him – if that could even be called a kiss – was better than killing him?

" – the fuck is your brain made out of?" Kakashi demanded, glaring up at Obito while he did his best not to look so vulnerable – he didn't think it was working with the quick, panting breaths and his position, sitting in the dirt water at his opponent's feet.

Obito swiped the back of a hand against his lips that were stained with Kakashi's blood, and smirked. "You think I'd let you die so easily?"

"I thought that's what you'd always wanted. Unless your sick fantasies include fucking me and _then_ killing me."

"What? Is that what _you've_ been wishing for?"

"Don't be a fucking ass and do what you came here to do, Obito." Reaching up to his shoulder, he gritted his teeth and pulled the kunai free. He met the glowing red irises again as he threw the weapon. "You came to avenge Rin."

Obito caught the kunai without sparing it a glance and simply stared at Kakashi. It was the first time he saw the stuck up bastard in such a sorry state. Well, the first time that Obito wasn't in a similar condition too. He had imagined it, of course, over the years. It passed time and allowed him to ignore the nightmares that kept him up at nights.

He had always imagined that seeing Kakashi like this would bring triumph and satisfaction. Only, he felt neither of them now. Kakashi looked pitiful – and yet, still dignified. Physically broken and weak, hardly able to sit up, but his eyes were still sharp and proud.

Kakashi looked…hot.

Obito snorted at the ridiculous thought. He weighed the kunai in his hand, twirling it several times between his fingers.

"You want me to kill you, don't you?" he said casually. Kakashi didn't reply, but simply continued to glower at him. Obito watched him, and mirthless amusement made his lips curl. "Don't worry, I will."

He flicked the bloody kunai one last time, and then restored it into his pouch as he turned away. Over his shoulder, he added, "Just not today."

"You won't get another chance like this one."

"We'll see."

Kakashi's fingers dug into the loose mud as he fought to keep the panic from rising. "Obito!"

No…no, no, no, god dammit! He had come so close to release. He had truly believed he could die in that instant. And now…now the idiot was walking away, following whatever insane logic in his retarded brain, leaving Kakashi alive – alive to suffer the dawning of another day and another month of guilt ridden nightmares. The idiot –

"Fucking son of a bitch! Obito! What the _hell_ are you thinking? Obito – !"

He had made it to his knees when his broken ribs protested against the screams and Kakashi broke into a fit of bloody coughs, his body folding in on itself and fighting off the pain. Kakashi groaned as his forehead touched the cool mud and he squeezed his eyes shut.

Maybe if he stuffed his face in the ground for long enough, he could suffocate and die. Or he could even try drowning in one of the larger puddles. Because the hurt of having to live another month was far more painful than any of his physical wounds. It frightened him. He didn't know how much longer he could take it.

Falling onto his side, his body trembled – whether from being soaked to the bone and from the biting cold or from fear, he could not tell apart. Damn Obito. _Damn him!_

When the broken scream pierced the night, Obito was still within hearing distance and he paused. It soon ended abruptly.

Unconsciously, he lifted a hand and drew his thumb over his lower lip. There was still a bittersweet taste on his lips, and he could remember the feeling of burning heat that surrounded his tongue in Kakashi's mouth. For an instant, he could have sworn Kakashi pushing back at him –

Obito closed his eyes and shut away his thoughts. He would stop briefly by the medics who always waited on standby, to let them know it was finished, then he would go home and take a long shower.

--

I honestly don't know if this'll continue or not. It'll probably depend of what you guys think. (shrugs) As for me, this is kind of just a break from my other story (Touketsu no Namida) and my exam studies.

Hope you enjoyed it!

.LinSetsu.


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